National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $76.50 and last traded at $76.13, with a volume of 114987 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.66.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,471.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -543.68 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.19.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $156,807,000 after purchasing an additional 85,950 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $146,502,000 after buying an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,447,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,844,000 after buying an additional 70,332 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $67,393,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.